Conclusions

Note: To better understand this blog, start reading from the beginning, and many of the comments by the researchers are important to note.

Mr. Tree's class shows the great effect that social groups can have on a classroom environment. As the example of this third hour class shows, you can't always have the same teaching style with two different groups of students, and being responsive to one's class is imperative in maximizing each student's enjoyment of, and learning in, the course. Additionally, there is something of a trade-off between pleasing the more dedicated students with a rigorous curriculum and high expectations and those who would prefer not to be in class by being more relaxed about classroom norms. Going too far to either extreme can be extremely alienating to some people, and teachers must carefully assess how and why the apply discipline to maximize the overall enjoyment and learning of students. Simple things, however, such as implementing a seat chart, as Mr. Tree has done, can go a long way in rectifying the problems that student's focus on socializing can have on a classroom.

A View from Ms. Appleseed

Ms. Appleseed is a former team teacher of Mr. Tree and a close friend of mine. While no longer working with Mr. Tree she is full of insight. She currently teaches in the same district but as a special education teacher now. With my many conversations with her, I have determined that Mr. Tree is the creative one and Ms. Appleseed was the disclipinarian. She took charge of the class and kept them in line. Mr. Tree was responsible for the creation of the atmosphere, the assignments, and keeping it fun. She was also the primary task master. She kept the class organized and things on track. This is the role I see myself taking in Mr. Tree's class. I am the task master. I expect great behavior from the kids, and why Mr. Tree does as well I will for a lack of a better term demand it. Ms. Appleseed had nothing but positive things to say about Mr. Tree and I can truly see Mr. Tree's greatness through her eyes.

The Battle

Mr. Tree does not fight many battles in his classroom. The kids sit wherever they want even though there is a seating chart. While he might get upset about kids talking while he is trying to teach he doesn't fight it. The kids throw stuff and nothing. Very rarely does he get upset. He might be inwardly upset but he does nothing to stop it.

However, there is one exception to the rule. This is when a student used a racial slur in class. He was an African-American student and used it towards another student of the same race. This set Mr. Tree off. The words people use is what annoys him. He believes that words with that much hate should not be used, no matter what the context. I have never seen Mr. Tree that angry before. This really set him off.

While it is nice to see him fight one battle I wish he would do it more. I cannot handle the lack of respect I see in the classroom. This is why I believe I have such a problem reaching students in the class because I have uber-high standards where his are just high.

Katie...Katie...Katie

I don't know where to begin with Katie. Katie is a girl who will put you in your place. She is a no nonsense type of girl. She knows if you are pulling a fast one on her. She has all the talent in the world but from what I have noticed she throws it all away. She does not care about her school work. She procrastinates so much that much of her homework is done in first and second hour so it is done by the beginning of her upcoming classes. She is a brilliant thinker but I'm afraid she is going to waste it. School is not her favorite thing in the world. She basically does enough to get by. Her grades might not be highly effected by this but if she continues her trend I can easily see her go into a downward spiral.

However, my favorite thing about Katie is I always know where I stand with her. If I do a horrible lesson she will tell me. If I do a great lesson in my eyes she is the one who will tell me how to improve. It is Katie who keeps me in check and I highly appreciate that.

The Curious Case of Amanda

Amanda is one of the quietest girls in the class. She is a hard worker and wants to learn. She has many extra activites outside of school including dance. However, she has the closest bond with three of the loudest boys in the class. When asked about this she did not have an answer. She was like it just works and for some reason it does. The main boy she is friends with Michael. They balance each other out quite well. They are both intelligent kids, Michael however is loud and sarcastic the complete opposite of Amanda. As a result they are the ying and yang to each other. Amanda will forever be willing to try hard and I expect nothing but great things from her.

Alejandro and Me

Alejandro has openly admitted he does not like me. In every clash we have he always relies on the "you are not my teacher card." He is openly insubordinate of me in class. For some reason we do not see eye to eye. I treat him like any other student. I do not purposely yell at him. I do not wake up everyday and determine how I am going to make Alejandro hate me. That has never been my target. This leads to question why does he battle me. Mr. Tree does not understand it either. The main battle occurred on my African Slave Kingdom lesson. He was not paying attention and I called him out on it and he proved he was not paying attention.

I believe the primary reason Alejandro dislikes me is because I will not put up with him not listening to me. I believe that if rules are in place those should be enforced. However, Mr. Tree is not always enforcing the rules and the seating charts. I expect that of my students and I am willing to enforce people the rules. I believe this is why Alejandro and I are so combatable. We are both alpha's and are willing to fight for our opinions. I want Alejandro to follow the rules, even the ones Mr. Tree does not enforce. Alejandro is not used to this and as a result we battle.

Conflicting Voices

As with any class, the various members of World Studies have a wide variety of opinions on the class. In this class, however, students' opinions seem to be strikingly in line with how they act in class, that is to say, those who are most disruptive love the class, those who are quiet but don't complete many of their assignments say that it's ok, but a joke, and those who want to learn are extremely frustrated. Additionally, those who are in the cliques are unaware of their existence, while those who are frustrated with the constant disruptions from certain groups are constantly irritated by the presence of cliques.

Alejandro is a Black student in World Studies who seems quite intelligent, and often says interesting things about race in conversations with his peers, but has continual behavioral problems, particularly with Brandon. When I asked him if he liked the class, he said yes, and that there really was nothing that he didn't like about it. He liked Mr. Tree's style of allowing students to reason through the material and hint at things until the class comes up with answers for itself, rather than simply being fed information. In addition to this, he said he doesn't feel it's any more cliquey than other classes. Given that, Alejandro is a member one of the main cliques of in the class, though, made up of some of the Black male students.

Jenny, one of the numerous students in the class who is quiet and respectful, but often fails to turn in assignments, has a different view of the class than Alejandro. "This class is kind of a joke," she said. "Mr. Tree gives us a lot of freedom and I think people take advantage of it," she continued, hinting at the preponderance of socializing in the class. She also commented directly on how the issue of seating charts fed into this. "We've had a lot of seating charts, but they never last, and Mr. Tree doesn't enforce them." This exemplifies one of the ways in which students have taken advantage of Mr. Tree's laxness. Jenny did not have any particular grievance, with the class however, though she thought it was silly. Amaya, a student in a similar position to Jenny, but perhaps slightly more talkative and with a definite clique of friends in the class comprised of a couple of others who play sports and appear to be popular, said that no, she didn't think the class was that cliquey, and that everyone was friends. On the subject matter of the class itself, however, she felt academic rigor was missing, but did not appear to particularly miss it. "Mr. Tree doesn't really make us do anything, or stay in our seats," she offered.

More invested members of the class did have grievances though, and strong ones. Katie, a student who is extremely smart and dedicated to her education, but opinionated and sometimes disrespectful, wants much more out of the class, and offered this comment: "This class is stupid. I feel like I'm not learning anything...The seating charts never work...I wish it was more boring and strict like my other classes." This surprising comment to come from a 16-year-old was not alone, wither. Amanda, another dedicated student, said in frustration, "I can't deal with this class. I'm thinking about switching out. I'm just not learning anything. Mr. Tree won't control the class. Everyone is friends and don't know how to be quiet." When I asked her to comment further on the the class's friendships and cliquey-ness, she rolled her eyes saying "yes," its very cliquey. Amanda's desire to switch out at the next trimester was not along. Katie mentioned at another time that she wanted to switch out, but ultimately decided against it, because in one of her later hours there was a boy she had a crush on, and if she switched this class, the later class would likely change. Katie's priorities were perhaps not entirely out of the ordinary, then.

These examples show a couple of things. First, the existence of cliques was most noticeable to those who were not in them. Alejandro and Amaya, who both had a solid contingent of friends that they sat with and talked with during class, did not feel that cliques were prevalent in the class. Dedicated students like Amanda and Katie were extremely frustrated with the cliques, and Mr. Tree was acutely aware of them as well. Satisfaction with the class seemed to be negatively correlated with one's awareness of cliques. This who felt the class was just a large group of friends had something of "clique privilege," and did not have to see the the presence of cloistering groups of friends who were often disruptive felt the class was just fine, while those were aware of it, who were also often the best students, were greatly irritated by it. This points to the need for teachers to be responsive to what's going on in their classrooms. Maintaining a relaxed atmosphere in which students are not shut out by rigid discipline policies is important, but shutting out the whole class from being able to learn by letting discipline, and with it, content, go completely out the window denies those who do want to learn the right to.